Improved railway-switch



UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

PETERKQUINN, OF PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA.

IMPROVED RAILWAY-SWITCH.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 53,674, dated April 3, 1866.

To all 'whom 'it may concern Be it known that I, PETER QUINN, of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, have invented an In1- provement in Railroad-Switches; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to the letters of reference marked thereon.

My invention relates to an improvement, fully described hereinafter, in the railroadswitch described in the-patent granted to Vm. Wharton, Jr., June 27, 1865, my improvement having for its object the transferring of cars from the main track to a turn -out without wounding or disturbing the continuity or per- Inanency of the rails of the said main track.

In order to enable others skilled in the art to make and use my invention, I will now proceed to describe its construction and operation.

0n reference to the accompanying; drawings, which form a part of this specification, Figures l and 2 are plan views of my improved railroad-switch; Fig. 3, a sectional elevation on the line l 2, Fig. l, and Fig. et a view of the operating-lever.

Similar letters refer to similar parts th roughout the several views.

A and A are the two permanent rails of the main-track-that is to say, the rails which the locomotives and cars for conducting the main transportation of the line have to traverseand B and B are the two rails of the turn-ont, which cars have occasionally to traverse for local traffic.

. D and D are the two rails which form the switch, the railD bein-g fastened at f so as to form a continuation of the rail B and the rail Dl fastened at the pointyl so as to form a continuation ofthe rail B.

The two rails D and D', which form the switch, are connected together by bars E and E', passing under the rails of the main track,

.or the switch-rails are otherwise so connected together that they must move simultaneously, the movement being effected in the present instance by an operating-lever, X, Fig. et, which is connected by means of a rod, Y, to the switchrail D.

The above-described arrangement of switchrails in relation to each other, and to those of the main track, and to those of the turn-out, is similar to that described in the aforesaid patent granted to Wm. Wharton, Jr., June 27, 1865, with this exception, that in the said patent the switch-rail D in no case rested on the top of the main rail A, but when it became necessary to transfer the cars from the main track to the turn-out the rail D was moved to a position alongside of and in contact with the rail A, so that the treads of the wheels on one side of the cars might bear on the said rail D, and, owing to the gradual upward inclination of the latter, might be directed onto the rail B ofv the turn-out, the switch-rail D serving, as in the present instance, to direct the wheels on the opposite side of the car onto the rail B of the turn-out.

It will be observed, on reference to Fig. l, that in my improvement the outer end ot' the switch-rail D bears on the top of the rail A when it is necessary to transfer the cars from the main track to the turn-out, the said switchrail D necessarily terminating at its outer end in a comparatively sharp edge, and being gradually inclined upward from this sharp end until it reaches thelevel ofthe rail B. (See Fig. 3.)

The operation of the above-described switch will be readily understood by those familiar with railroad matters without further description.

I wish it to be understood that I do not desire to claim, broadly, a switch-rail, D, so inclined that it will raise the wheels on one side of a car above the permanent xail A of the main track prior to the wheels being guided laterally by the other switch-rail, D', without interfering with the permanency of the rails of the main track, as that invention is claimed in the aforesaid patentof Wm. Wharton, Jr.; out

I claim as my invention and desire to secure by Letters Patent as an improvement in the said Whartons Patent- The switch-rails D and D', when connected and operating together as described, and when the inclined switch-rail D bears on the top of the main rail A, when it is necessary to transfer the cars from the main track to the turnout, all as set forth.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in the presence of two subscribin g witnesses.

PETER QUINN Witnesses JOHN WHITE, W. J. R. DELANY. 

